Allahabad HC cancels bail granted to rape accused Gayatri Prajapati

In a major blow to former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapti, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday cancelled the bail given by Lucknow’s session court to him and other accused in an alleged rape case

In a major blow to former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapti, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday cancelled the bail given by Lucknow’s session court to him and other accused in an alleged rape case.

Quashing the bail, the Lucknow bench said that the earlier decision appears to have been awarded in a “hurry” by the session court, and stands nullified now.

Earlier, on May 12, the Lucknow bench had upheld its earlier decision not to grant bail to Prajapati.

Pintu Singh and Vikas Verma, both absconding, were also not relieved in the matter, and the court had ordered their immediate arrest.

Prajapati and his two accomplices were granted bail by the special court for Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) last month.

A case against the former minister was filed in the Gautampalli police station in February.

The former Amethi MLA, who bit the dust at the hustings in the assembly polls in March, was accused of raping a woman and attempting to rape her minor daughter.

Prajapati was a powerful minister in the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government, who despite being charged in many cases, could not be arrested and became a major embarrassment for the Samajwadi Party government during the assembly elections.